A search for identity
by syusuke18
Summary: Ricku,a girl who is always mistaken to be a boy, joins the hunter exams. Meeting HxH gang made her realize how much she missed out on living 12 years of excitement. A story of friendship, adventure and a little bit romance. P.S. I'm a total beginner!
1. two locals in foreign land

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HUNTERXHUNTER... but i wish I do... T_T

message form the author: uhhmm... this is actually my first EVER fanfiction... please be nice to me.

_It was when I lost everything… I searched for what I owned._

As I stepped out of the elevator, everyone was staring at me with a 'get-out-of-here-kid!' look. It seemed as if twelve year old children are not allowed to enter the 'macho' room. I took a huge gulp and a sigh…

'_Ricku… you can do this!' I thought to myself. 'You're a big girl now and you are not allowed to run away. And for crying out loud! You have trained hard for this! Have faith in your strength.'_

After a slap on my cheeks, I walked, with much bravery, towards a corner as I ignore the deadly glares the other participants gave me. I sat down by the wall as I wore the number plate a man gave me in the upper floor…

"112 huh? A pretty good job for a beginner. But your just way out of my league, I'm number 16 this year." a fat mat bragged with a discourteous smirk. "My name is Tompa and I'm a hunter exams veteran. If you have any questions about what's going on, just ask me, **little boy**…"

_What the hell is this fat guy! Is he looking for a fight? He comes bragging about his early arrival yet he is just a total loser! If he means 'this year' then he must have fail many times… what a total moron! And another thing! I'm a __**GIRL!**__ Having short hair is also common for girls!_

"Uhhm… Good for you Mister Tompa. " I replied with fraud respect. "Maybe you should get-"…"WOOOWWWWWW!" a spiky haired boy suddenly exclaimed which caught everyone's attention _including mine and that fat guy's._

'_DARN! And I was almost near to embarrassing this loser in public! I was near to telling that fat man get a life other than picking on the weak. If it wasn't for that kid- wait! There is actually another kid taking the hunter exams! SALVATION!_

I ran towards the energized boy, leaving behind Mister Tompa…

"uhmm… My name is Ricku Zoem. And I'm twelve years old." I introduced

He looked at me with a huge smile "My name is Gon Freecs. I'm twelve as well!"

_Waaaaa! This is so cool! He looks just like the enthusiastic boy I read in mangas. He seems so friendly!_

A couple of men arrived beside Gon...

"By the way... these are my friends Leorio and Kurapika"

"Yo!" the funny looking man greeted. "I'm Leorio"

"Well... that would make me Kurapika." the other boy said with a girly smile...

"I'm Ricku Zoem from Whale island... It is very nice to meet you!"

"You came from Whale island!" Gon reacted... extremely.

"Uhmm... Yes. I was born and raised there."

"I came from whale island as well! Yet, I haven't seen you before." he said with a confused expression.

_He's from whale island too! what a small world! But I wouldn't wonder cause my dad never allows me to leave the house... I miss mom and dad._

"Maybe your from different sides of the island?" Kurapika hypothesized

"Actually... I never leave our-" ***whistle***

A signal was heard which cut our conversation. A man with no mouth suddenly appeared before us telling _(how does he speak without a mouth?_) us to follow him towards the venue of the second exams. The hunter exams began!


	2. The skater boy

Before I know it… I got separated from Gon, Kurapika and leorio. Remember when I mentioned that the mouthless man asked us to follow him? It seems as if it was part of the exams. At first we were just walking, but as time goes by the pace just got faster. The other participants began running while shovng people on their way… guess that explains why I got separated from Gon and the others…

(flash back 2 hours ago)

"_Why haven't I seen you before anyways?" Gon questioned. " Whale island is quite small yet-"_

"_Actually, I rarely leave our house." I answered. "My parents are over protective you see; and that's also the reason why I joined the hunter exams. I want to see what the world is like. "_

"_So that explains…" Leorio concluded as Gon and Kurapika agreed._

"_I thought that your parents are over protective…" Kurapika followed up. " How come they allowed you to join the hunter exams?"_

"_I kind of…. Uhmmm…" I answered hesitantly. "… I ran away from home."_

"_WHAT?" they reacted_

"_That's rebellion!" Leorio shouted "Your parents must be worried sick!"_

"_Maybe…" I said with a force smile._

"_But I think it's okay." Gon gave me a huge smile. "This will be your chance to see the world and-"_

Then our conversation was cut _again _when the other participants shoved me away from their path.

It has been hours since we've started running… and I'm getting extremely bored. There is no one to talk to. Everyone was older than me which made me afraid to speak with them. There was this bald guy who was trying to chat with everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, but I didn't want to speak with him because all he did was to brag about his 'awesome ninja skills'! It's SOOOO boring! But a rolling sound caught my attention. It was the sound of a skate board. I glance at my back seeing a silver haired boy skating his way pass everyone else… behind him I saw Leorio-san shouting…

"Hey kid!" Leorio shouted "Using a skate board isn't fair you know!"

The silver haired boy jumped off the skateboard as he answered back…"But the guy only told us to follow him"

"Yes… he did." Gon agreed with a smile

"In whose side are you in, Gon!" Leorio complained as Gon just giggled

"Hi! I'm Gon. Twelve years old from whale island. There's actually someone else here who's also from whale island, but **he **got separated from us." Gon introduced himself to the skater boy." What's your name? Are you twelve as well?"

_I tried to not react to the pronoun __**he,**__ 'cause I thought It would be better if they think I was I guy .Any one could mistake me as a boy because of my short hair and my boyish attire (gray hoodie, black knee length shorts, and brown traveler's shoes). It would be much more convenient for me and for them as well._

The skater boy suddenly matched with their pace and was about to answer Gon's question… but Kurapika suddenly noticed me in front of them.

"Ricku-**kun**" kurapika called. _I almost cracked when I heard that, but I tried my best to keep calm._

"yo!" I answered. "It seems you guys made a new friend."

"Tch" the skater boy seemed to be irritated with me "Anyways…"looking back to Gon. " I'm twelve years old too. But, am I obliged to answer the first question?"

Leorio-san made the 'irritated-to-arrogant-brat-look' which caught the attention of the skater boy.

"It's okay if you don't want to answer that question." Gon answered politely.

"hnn…" Kurapika smirked " If you don't want to introduce yourself, I will introduce myself instead. My name is Kurapka."

"Same goes with me!" I followed "My name is Ricku Zoem."

"How about you old man? Aren't you telling me your name?" The skater boy gave out a devilish grin

**huff*huff**huff* that is what I heard from Leorio-san.

"Leorio! Are you okay?" Kurapika and Gon asked with much concern. Before I know it, I saw Leorio on his knees. We stopped to aid him. Surprisingly the skater boy paused as well. I really thought that he wouldn't concern himself with this.

"I can't go on anymore! **huff*huff**" Leorio breathe from exhaustion. "Talking while running consumed my strength… Just leave me here."

"But we can't leave you behind! I'll just carry you on my back." Gon offered.

"But that'll slow you down, Gon!" Kurapika said

"Kurapika is right, Gon. You might not be able to catch up." I agreed

"They're right. Just go on ahead!" Leorio gathered his breath to talk.

"We'll never know unless we try!" Gon said as he carried Leorio.

***SIGH*** the skater boy suddenly gave out a huge sigh. "How troublesome…"

"If you're troubled then-" I was cut when the skater boy suddenly said…"I''l just carry you on my back as I ride my skate board."

_WHAT! Is this real? A while ago he was a devil in a cute boy's body and now he's being angelic!_

"tch… I don't need your help." Leorio's pride poured out.

"You know that your friend here can't be stopped from helping you… Do you want to slow him down?"

"Argh! Okay… But I'll pay you back whether you want it or not."

The skater boy carried Leorio on his back as we ran with maximum speed. Surprisingly, with a man on his back, the skater boy's speed was not affected.

"By the way, my name is Killua. I'd guess this guy I'm carrying would be Leorio."

"So your name is Killua… That's a nice name." Gon smiled as Killua smiled back.


	3. A test of friendship

Disclaimer: I do not own hunterXhunter… but I wish I do.

Message from the author: Thank you SOOO much for the helpful reviews. Thank you for reading my fic. If you didn't like it…. sorry. But I'll still do my best! I wasn't able to put a disclaimer and a message in the 2nd chapter… I got confused with the buttons and- I don't know… I'm a computer illiterate for god's sake! Anyway… I look forward to your reviews… Please be nice to me.

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><p>Most of the participants panted hard to catch their breath from running non-stop for several hours. A wall slowly descends by the opening of the tunnel which trapped everyone, who weren't able to catch up to the exam instructor, inside the dark hall.<p>

"Now, everyone." The man with no mouth called for attention. "What you need to do now is-" But the instructor was cut when a bruised man suddenly appeared callin everyone's attention while dragging a beat-up monkey at his right hand.

"Stop! Don't listen to him!" he called. "That man who claims to be your instructor is an imposter! He is one of the monkeys that lives here in this mountain! They ambushed me when I had my back!"

XxXxX Ricku's POV XxXxX

Everybody got confused with the unexpected turn of events. I, myself, didn't even know what's going on! I looked at the monkey, that the bruised man was dragging, and it looked similar to the guy with no mouth. It was so weird!

Suddenly a creepy looking man, wearing a clown's garments, stepped out to settle the confusing state of affairs. He gave me the hives! He suddenly laughed as he licked his upper lip. It was like he was ready to kill for pleasure.

"There is only one way of settling this circumstance." He grinned with his eyes squint. He threw a playing card towards the bruised man and the "imposter" instructor. The cards flew like spinning blades as it cut through the flesh of the bruised guy. As for Mr. no-mouth… He caught the card before it could reach him. It was amazing yet terrifying…

"Hn… I guess that guy didn't have any business in our affairs." The creepy man smirks."He was too weak."

I look towards Gon and saw him trembling in fear. I wouldn't wonder. That man right there was not human. He's a monster. No one in the right state of mind can ever find pleasure in killing.

"Continuing to what I was saying." The instructor called as if nothing happened. "What you need to do now is escape from this forest… If you can. This place is called the Swindler's swamp; a home to viscous mystical creatures. If you survive this challenge then you will proceed to take the second part of the hunter exams."

Everything was going too fast! Before I know it, we were just dealing with some guy who claims to be the instructor and now I got separated from Gon and the others… AGAIN! How absent minded could I be!

So I started running. Nothing will happen if I just stand there thinking about what's happening.

"You must be wondering who that creepy guy was just now." A familiar _irritating_ voice suddenly approached me. It was the Tompa guy! GREAT! Just great! (Sarcastic tone)

"That guy was Hisoka." He continued even if I didn't seem to be listening. "He was actually one of the participants of the hunter exams last year. Even though he's strong, he was not able to get a hunter's license."

The fat guy's topic caught my curiosity. "Why? What happened?"

"I wasn't able to reach the last part of the exams (expected), which he failed, but I heard that **he killed one of the instructors** which caused him disqualification."

GULP. That part in bold letters highlighted in my mind as I recalled Hisoka's attempt to kill the instructor.

"It's better if you don't involve yourself with that guy. A newbie like you wouldn't stand a chance." The fat guy smirked. This guy was actually underestimating me! What a moron! Why I ought to-

"Speak for yourself fatty." A teasing voice butted in from behind. It was Killua.

"Tch. Just be grateful that I have no time to get back at you! " Tompa left as he got his pacing faster.

"It seems that you're running alone." I said to Killua. "Where are the others?"

Killua followed with my pacing as I looked at him. "Actually, I didn't even bother myself to follow them. I work alone."

"Hn. Later on… you might think otherwise." I looked at front.

"huh? I don't think so." And there was silence.

Then a loud scream was heard that resonated throughout the forest. I suddenly paused as killua continued running. He noticed my sudden pause as he stopped a couple of meters away from me.

"Why'd you stop?" he asked

"Somebody might be in trouble. I need to go."

"But you might not be able to reach the goal in time."

"But somebody needs help!"

"Suit yourself. If you're not able to finish the challenge… That's not my problem."

"Fine." I left Killua and went on to the source of the loud scream.

XxXxX killua's POV XxXxX

I continued running as Ricku went away.

'What the hell is that guy? He's acting similar to that Gon Kid.' I said to myself. (note: Killua also thinks that Ricku is a boy.)

"how troublesome."

XXxXx end of killua's POV XxXXX

Ricku's POV

'What the hell is going on?' I shouted in my mind as I hid myself behind a bush while watching leorio get beaten up by Hisoka.

"How in the world did it became like this?"

"Hisoka is trying to act as an instructor." A voice came at my back

"Kurapika!" I exclaimed. I didn't really understood what he answered to me but…

"Keep it down." he demanded as he covered my mouth. "Hisoka might feel our presence."

"umhp-" I broke free from his hand. "sorry."

"ARGH!" we heard Leorio scream in pain as Hisoka held on his head like a basketball.

Hisoka then said "As much as I want to kill you now… I-" **pak!***

A red shiny ball suddenly hit Hisoka's face. It was Gon. The sides of Hisoka's lips curved as his eyes glared at the trembling boy. He was terrifying. A shiver went through my spine as I watched Hisoka approach Gon.

"Gon! Get away from here! " Leorio shouted. "It's dangerous!"

Hisoka then kicked Leorio which caused Leorio his consciousness

I didn't know what to do! As much as I want to help… my body won't move. All I can do is watch… I was so useless! I hated myself. For the first time, I have found people that can be called my friends but now… I just watched them be killed by this psycho! What should I do?

Gon suddenly charged towards Hisoka. He tried to kick the man's face but he was just thrown away as Hisoka slashed him with one of his cards. Gon backed away and wiped away the blood from the wound Hisoka inflicted on his face. Once again, he charged towards his opponents but was hit on his abdominal with Hisokas knee… It was a horrible sight. Gon coughed out blood as he lied on the ground.

"Hn… You weren't too bad." Hisoka grinned. "You pass."

He then went to Leorio and carried him "You pass as well."

Gon stood up as Kurapika Ran towards the battlefield.

"Where do you think you're bringing him!" Kurapika called to Hisoka.

Hisoka looked over his shoulder." Hn…" He smirked. "If you want him… Then follow me."

Hisoka ran towards the forest bringing Leorio along.

"Come back here!" Gon shouted.

I stood up from my post as I stared at Gon and Kurapika running to follow Hisoka.

I was so useless. I was not even able to show up even at the last minute. I just watched the whole scene. The whole going 'back thing' to help was just discolored to nonsense.

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><p>That's it…. Eheheh.. sorry for updating late. Hope you liked it.<p> 


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